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Book Discussion: A FIRE UPON THE DEEP by Vernor Vinge

Book Discussion for June 1, 2017: A FIRE UPON THE DEEP by Vernor Vinge

First up for our new quarterly book discussions is Tor.com's May 2017 selection, the Hugo Award Winning A FIRE UPON THE DEEP by Vernor Vinge. A free download of the book is available at Tor. com** until May 15, 2017, at 11:59 p.m. (U.S. Eastern Time). It is also available for Kindle on Amazon, though I do recommend grabbing from Tor while it's free.

Why a Science Fiction novel in the Contemporary Lit subforum?

Lisa mentioned the book as Tor's current download, so it is easily accessible to most as a free download right now. “Alternative facts” and determining the reliability of information bombarding us currently via the internet (in particular) is already on all our minds. And artificial intelligence and what would happen were some “evil intelligence” to direct our quest for information/knowledge in service to its own purposes has been on my mind. (Pure serendipity, I guess you'd call it.) A FIRE UPON THE DEEP is one take on such a post-human era brought about by this technological singularity of humanity completely freed (by robotics and artificial intelligence) from mundane tasks—unprecedented in human history and with no foreseeable outcome based on our prior experience.

Why this novel in particular?

It meets the criteria: published post-WWII, strong characterization (specifically Ravna Bergsndot, a human librarian); contains contemporary cultural elements and implications; a well-written and conceptually dense book that makes us think.

The Plot:

In the far future, humans have found they are not alone in the universe. The universe is populated by many species—and they are the most “alien” aliens you’ll encounter; they aren’t the lizards in cheap suits variety—and information/knowledge is the source of great wealth. When humans of the Straumli realm discover and try to tap into a lost “archive”, they unleash a Power that is bent on the destruction of worlds.

Attempting to flee the now-discovered threat, two ships take off: one containing a husband and wife team and their two children, as well as the other children from the colony now in a cryogenic state; the second ship contains adults from the colony and is destroyed by the Power. Upon landing on another world, the survivors are taken captive by the Tines, an alien race with a harsh medieval culture. A rescue mission, of both humans and non-humans, is launched to rescue survivors and obtain a secret that may save the rest of interstellar civilization.

What's In and What's Out when it comes time to promote your book: Check out our ever-popular Book Promotion Ideas & Advice Forum, it's overflowing with tips on what works and what doesn't and how to go about doing what does work well.